Channel - Cryogenics

Welcome to the Cryogenics lesson catalog.

1/7/2025 2:47:00 PM

Channel Videos

60 Years of Liquid Hydrogen: Revolutionizing our Clean Energy Future Across the Solar System

Abstract: Hydrogen has the highest specific energy of any fuel, is 74% of known mass in the universe, and reacts with oxygen to form water. As such, Humanity’s continued progress necessitates mastering hydrogen. 60 years ago, NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Management Council chose to develop the Saturn S-II and S-IVB LH2/LOx stages for the coming Apollo Missions to the Moon. Choosing liquid hydrogen may have been the deciding factor in mission success due to overlapping system synergies from faster transit to lighter-weight power from Bacon Cells and drinking water for the crew. Developing liquid hydrogen infrastructure sustained commerce for many decades beyond the Apollo Missions. Today, 30% of groceries in the US are moved via forklifts operating from this infrastructure. Hydrogen will remain key in our clean energy future; whether mission architectures utilize chemical, fission, or fusion power, or we move goods via plane, train, truck, or boat. Fundamental technology advancements will be pivotal to this future. Hydrogen liquefier efficiencies remain only 30% of theoretically achievable and liquid hydrogen storage losses range between 7-40%, all but precluding missions to Mars. In this talk, I invite you to address these challenges via synergistic solutions enabled by modern manufacturing. For example, small, modular, efficient hydrogen liquefiers can be rapidly produced while fitting down the interstate, the column of an off-shore wind turbine, or an upper stage rocket fairing. Novel liquid hydrogen storage technologies can work with these cooler concepts to achieve Zero-Boil-Off in a variety of ways. The culmination of these developments has the potential to realize a sustainable energy future both on Earth and across the Solar System

Dr. Jacob Leachman

6/22/2022 5:00:00 PM

Aerogel-Based Thermal Insulation Systems for Cryogenic-vacuum Applications

Many different aerogel-based materials are now being used in thermal insulation systems for cryogenic applications. These materials include flexible composite blankets, bulk-fill particles, and polymer composites in both evacuated and non-evacuated environments. In ambient environments, aerogels provide superior thermal performance compared to conventional polymeric foam and cellular glass insulations while offering unique advantages in avoiding problems with weathering, moisture, and mechanical damage. Aerogels are also used in layered insulation systems providing combined structural-thermal capability for cryogenic applications in either vacuum-jacketed or externally-applied insulation designs. Test data (effective thermal conductivity) include a wide range of both commercial and experimental aerogel materials. Testing was performed using laboratory cryostats and standard methods including full range vacuum (from ambient pressure to high vacuum) and boundary temperatures 293 K and 78 K. Examples of aerogel-based insulation systems are given for both evacuated and non-evacuated applications. Technical resources for further data and study are also provided. Briefly addressed are the following topics on aerogel insulation systems: • Production & processing methods • Types of aerogels/composites • Properties & phenomena • Thermal testing • Thermal data • Applications & problem-solving

James Fesmire

6/30/2020 6:00:00 PM

The Zero-Boil-Off Tank (ZBOT) Experiment, Part 1

The Zero-Boil-Off Tank (ZBOT) Experiments are a series of small scale tank pressurization and pressure control experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) that use a transparent volatile simulant fluid in a transparent sealed tank to delineate various fundamental fluid flow, heat and mass transport, and phase change phenomena that control storage tank pressurization and pressure control in microgravity. The hardware for ZBOT-1 flew to ISS on the OA-7 flight in April 2017. Operations began in September 2017 and were completed by December 2017, encompassing more than 100 tests. Hand-in-Hand with the experiment a state-of-the-art two-phase CFD model of the storage tank pressurization & pressure control is also developed and validated against the experimental results.

Dr. Mohammad Kassemi

6/30/2020 6:00:00 PM